Becker/Big Lake Eagles
Last year: 10-16-0
Conference (record): Two Rivers (5-6-0)
Section: 5A
State trips: None
Home arena: Princeton Ice Arena
Head coach: Doug Friedrichs
Career record (years): 39-88-2 (6)
Assistant coaches: Jason Hartfiel, Zach Barzee
Letterwinners returning/lost: 12/5
Top returning forwards: Senior Corbin Kollar (12-10--22), senior Tyler Ruppelius (7-9--16), junior Austin Rydberg (6-6--12), senior Jacob Bahe (4-6--10)
Top returning defenseman: Junior Luke Mehelich (2-4--6)
Top returning goaltender: Junior Caden Weber (4-1-0, 3.79, .831)
The coach says: “We have high expectations for the upcoming season after going 10-16 with a lineup of mostly underclassmen. Roster will be young with 20 underclassmen, and only four seniors and three juniors. With this young group, we are hoping for the seniors to carry the load at the beginning of the year while the young kids mature and contribute later on. We are looking to contend for the Two Rivers Conference championship. Even though we lost two top scorers from last year’s team, returning forwards Corbin Kollar, Jacob Bahe and Tyler Ruppelius should pick up right where they left off last year. Sophomore Alec Anderson and junior Caden Weber will battle for the goaltending job. The most improved part of our team last year was our young defensemen. Luke Mehelich, Tucker Rhodes and Nate Kerzman could be the strength of our team this upcoming season.”

With 10 letterwinners returning, Breck looks to qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2016. Photo: Christine Wisch

Breck Mustangs
Last year: 9-19-0
Conference (record): Independent Metro (2-4-0)
Section: 2A
State trips: 1994, 96, 97, 2000 Champs, 04 Champs, 09 Champs, 10 Champs, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16
Home arena: Breck School Anderson Ice Arena
Head coach: Glen Lang
Career record (years): 9-19-0 (1)
Assistant coaches: Charlie Schaitberger, Merrill Harris, Josh DeSmit, Michael Mooney
Letterwinners returning/lost: 10/10
Top returning forwards: Sophomore Beau Courneya (10-8--18), senior Matthew Conroy (9-2--11), sophomore Carter Oftedahl (2-4--6)
Top returning defensemen: Junior John Blake (1-4--5), senior David Ruiz (0-3--3)
The coach says: “Every team’s goal at the beginning of the year should be a state championship. Ours won’t change and shouldn’t ever change. I think one of our biggest strengths is team chemistry. Another strength we have is team leadership through upperclassmen and we are all working for the ultimate goal of being state champions. Our biggest key to a successful season is coming to the rink wanting to work hard and wanting to win. Also, getting pucks deep, pucks to the net, and winning hockey games.”

Delano/Rockford Tigers
Last year: 13-13-0
Conference (record): Wright County (6-7-0)
Section: 2A
State trips: 2017
Home arena: Delano Area Sports Arena
Head coach: Gerrit van Bergen
Career record (years): 82-30-1 (4)
Assistant coaches: Chad Wagner, Kevin Johnson, Robbie Stocker, Ron Guild
Letterwinners returning/lost: 10/10
Top returning forwards: Senior Quinn Daly (5-12--17), sophomore Adam Brown (3-10--13), junior Kory Dunnigan (1-4--5)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Hogan Williams (3-6--9), senior Tommy Peterson (1-4--5)
Top returning goaltender: Senior Aaron Kruse (2-0-0, 2.00, .897)
The coach says: “Our team this season will continue to be devoted to developing a full 200-foot game with a high emphasis on the defensive zone. This group is littered with players waiting to take the next step with the Tigers in increased and different roles. Team structure and a tireless work ethic will be vital to the growth of the 2018-19 team. ”

Henry Sibley Warriors
Last year: 4-20-2
Conference (record): Metro East (0-12-1)
Section: 4A
State trips: 1973, 74, 75, 76, 82, 83, 93, 97
Home arena: West St. Paul Arena
Head coach: Corey Hessler
Assistant coaches: Brandon Ferraro, Jason Platz, Mark Leitner
Letterwinners returning/lost: 15/7
Top returning forwards: Junior Nate Pace (8-19--27), senior Johnny McGuire (12-10--22), senior Jack Greeley (5-7--12), senior Donnie Mahowald (9-3--12)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Logan Woods (1-8--9), junior Michael Scherer (1-2--3)
Top returning goaltender: Senior Tommy Buell
The coach says: “We feel like we have established an identity this summer in what we are as a team and the team really rallied around that. This should help propel us into the 2018-19 season. We return six of our top seven forwards from a year ago so we feel our strength will be up front. We need more consistent scoring from the forward position to help us take a significant step forward. We’ll have a lot of competition on the blueline and in-between the pipes which should push those guys to get better on a daily basis.”

Hermantown senior defenseman Sam High is one of 13 returning players from last season’s state third-place team. Let’s Play Hockey photo by Mike Thill

Hermantown Hawks
Last year: 22-7-2
Conference (record): Lake Superior (3-1-1)
Section: 7A
State trips: 1994, 98, 99, 2001, 06, 07 Champs, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Champs, 17 Champs, 18
Home arena: Hermantown Arena
Head coach: Patrick Andrews
Career record (years): 22-7-2 (1)
Assistant coaches: Chad Huttel, Joe Muehlbauer, Matt Swanson, Nate Buck
Letterwinners returning/lost: 13/7
Top returning forwards: Junior Blake Biondi (30-28--58), senior Justin Thomas (10-15--25), senior Brady Baker (11-7--18)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Darian Gotz (10-21--31), senior Elliott Peterson (13-16--29), senior Sam High (2-12--14)
Top returning goaltender: Senior Cole Manahan (19-5-2, 2.23, .904)
The coach says: “The 2018-19 Hawks should be a much more mature and experienced team, especially on the back end. With 13 returners, many of whom played key roles on last year’s State third-place team, this year’s Hermantown squad is looking to return to St. Paul for more. The key to success for the Hawks will work from the net out. Through the years, Hermantown Hockey has come to be known for its tough team D and minimizing opponent scoring. Having a returning goaltender with state tournament experience in senior netminder Cole Manahan, only strengthens that outlook. In addition, the Hawks have always counted on great blueliners when making deep playoff runs and the 2018-19 team should have that in spades. Led by senior captain Darian Gotz and fellow senior Sam High, both of whom log huge amounts of ice and play gritty and nasty in the D zone. The pair can score on the rush as well as on the PP and will be a constant source of inspiration for the Hawks and trepidation for opponents. In addition, underclassmen such as juniors Indio Dowd and Zach Carson, who both saw considerable amounts of ice last year, will be joined by sophomore Joey Pierce coming off captaining a Bantam State tournament run. Working from the D zone out, the Hawks will be led by senior captains Elliot Peterson and Brady Baker both gritty, fast and goal-scoring forwards, as well as fellow senior Justin Thomas who recorded three goals in the 2018 State Tournament. The senior forward crew will be bolstered by UMD commit and standout junior Blake Biondi who was second in team scoring on last year’s team and plays at a level that is far beyond his years. The Hawks also look to add to their depth from a multitude of juniors and seniors who saw varsity minutes last season, as well as a slew of capable sophomores coming up from a very successful Bantam State run.”

Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato Dragons
Last year: 16-13-1
Conference (record): Wright County (5-6-1)
Section: 3A
State trips: 1996, 2008, 16, 18
Home arena: Litchfield Civic Arena
Head coach: Chris Olson
Career record (years): 172-224-15 (15)
Assistant coaches: Bill Huhner, Chuck Wedin, Craig McKechney
Letterwinners returning/lost: 15/5
Top returning forwards: Senior Brandt Pedersen (28-19--47), senior Dylan Schutz (9-16--25), junior Jake Johnson (6-7--13), senior Blake Johnson (5-7--12)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Paul Raisanen (11-13--24), senior Corey Benda (5-3--8)
Top returning goaltender: Sophomore Darby Halonen (16-11-1, 3.06, .888)
The coach says: “We expect to play very solid hockey. We were very young last year and have a good core of returning players. Our goaltending should be strong as well as the play of our forwards. Scoring has to be better this year, and we have to replace three good defensemen. I think we will have pretty good team speed and the ability to move the puck. We have to be tough in the dirty areas of the rink.”

Little Falls Flyers
Last year: 12-11-3
Conference (record): Granite Ridge (0-2-0)
Section: 6A
State trips: 2005, 06, 07, 08, 09, 12
Home arena: Exchange Arena
Head coach: Tony Couture
Career record (years): 380-278-16 (26)
Assistant coaches: Andrew Schouveller, Austin Fenske,
Bob Stark, Wesley Waytashek, Jared Festler, Chris Dobis
Letterwinners returning/lost: 9/11
Top returning forwards: Senior Ethan Ballou (6-5--11), sophomore Gabe Hirsch (3-7--10), senior Devon Young (4-6--10)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Josh Jennings (6-15--21), junior Reece Hubbard (0-7--7), senior Lucas Rekstad (1-5--6)
Top returning goaltender: Senior Will Riitters
The coach says: “The Flyers lost 11 starters to graduation, but one of the biggest voids will be in the net, with three-year starter Justin Pekula graduating. The Flyers are looking for someone to fill the void. With a strong core of returner and fresh new faces coming from a state tournament Bantam team, the Flyers should do alright. Three-year defensive starter Landon Johnson will be missed and hard to replace, but the Flyers return most of the D core. I expect the season to be a little slow at first until the team has a chance to gel.”

Marshall Tigers
Last year: 19-7-1
Conference (record): Big South (12-3-1)
Section: 3A
State trips: 2013
Home arena: Lyon County Ice Arena
Head coach: Michael Weiss
Career record (years): 78-49-5 (5)
Assistant coaches: Aaron Schroeder, Jim Haynes, Scott Mellenthin
Letterwinners returning/lost: 17/4
Top returning forwards: Senior Mason Plante (38-14--52), junior Bryson Whyte (12-9--21), sophomore Tristan VanDeVere (11-10--21)
Top returning defensemen: Junior Kaleb Welvaert (5-21--26), senior Trey Weber (0-3--3)
Top returning goaltenders: Junior Dominik Caspers (15-5-1, 1.98, .929), senior Ryley Serreyn
The coach says: “Expectations for this year are very high. We have a lot of key pieces from last year’s team back. Offensively, we have a lot of speed and guys who can make plays all over the ice. Defensively, we return two goalies coming off of great years. The key to a successful season for us is to play at a high level every night, play well defensively and finish our opportunities on the offensive end.”

Minnesota River Bulldogs
Last year: 17-9-1
Conference (record): Big South (13-2-1)
Section: 1A
State trips: None
Home arena: LeSueur Community Center
Head coach: Shea Roehrkasse
Career record (years): 34-20-1 (2)
Assistant coach: Shawn Weick
Letterwinners returning/lost: 16/6
Top returning forwards: Senior Tyson Sowder (12-23--35), senior Hunter Wilmes (23-11--34), junior Charlie Weick (7-22--29), senior Jade Reicks (11-18--29), senior Lane Schwarz (15-11--26)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Ken Ringler (16-12--28), senior Danny McCabe (10-16--26), junior Shawn Lehtinen (2-5--7), senior Alex Wilson (4-3--7)
Top returning goaltender: Senior Andrew Regner (13-8-1, 2.70, .913)
The coach says: “Our biggest strength this year will be the experience that we are returning from last year. We are returning a number of players with a lot of varsity experience, and we will lean on that to help us throughout the year. Some keys for the season are going to be balanced scoring and balanced play from our top lines. We have improved defensively throughout the last two seasons and that will continue to be a major key to success for us again this year.”

Mound Westonka/Watertown-Mayer White Hawks
Last year: 19-7-1
Conference (record): Wright County (9-4-0)
Section: 2A
State trips: 1998, 2001
Home arena: Thaler Sports Center
Head coach: Jake Hindermann
Career record (years): 29-22-2 (2)
Assistant coaches: Austin Hill, Dave Montgomery, Pat Furlong
Letterwinners returning/lost: 9/9
Top returning forwards: Senior Ethan Fetters-Vandenheuvel (6-4--10), senior Luke Holmen (2-6--8), senior Britt Courneya (3-5--8)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Carter Hansen (5-17--22), junior Adam Nobs (0-1--1)
Top returning goaltender: Senior Noah Coley (9-3-1, 1.70, .914)
The coach says: “We set the bar pretty high last season. We tied the school record for wins at 19 as well as achieved the team’s highest state ranking ever at number six. We believe we can be better this season and build upon last year’s success. We are a faster team this year and strong defensively with an influx of young talent and good goaltending. We have a good mix of veteran and rookie players capable of winning a lot of games.”

New Ulm Eagles
Last year: 13-12-1
Conference (record): Big South (10-6-0)
Section: 3A
State trips: 1992, 2010, 11, 12, 15
Home arena: New Ulm Civic Center
Head coach: Ryan Neuman
Career record (years): 41-35-3 (3)
Assistant coaches: Cody Kohn, Sean Stewart
Letterwinners returning/lost: 10/10
Top returning forwards: Junior Glavine Schugel (11-17--28), senior Landon Strong (13-14--27), senior Kyle Tauer (9-4--13), senior Josh Seidl (3-10--13)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Shane Esser (1-4--5), senior Blake Tauer (0-2--2)
Top returning goaltender: Senior Jack Raymond (12-12-1, 2.47, .915)
The coach says: “New Ulm will look to climb to the top of the Big South conference and also compete for a section championship for the first time in a few years. The Eagles will lean heavily on the senior leadership of returning forward Landon Strong and returning goaltender Jack Raymond. Landon will be entering his fourth season of varsity hockey and Jack will be entering his third season as the starting goaltender for the Eagles. New Ulm will return six total forwards, and four of the six finished near the top of team in points last season. On the back end, the Eagles only return two defensemen, but have multiple players from the JV and Bantam teams that they believe will adjust very quickly to the varsity level. The JV and Bantam teams both had very good seasons last year and will both have players that add depth on both the front and back end.”

North Shore Storm
Last year: 10-14-0
Conference: Independent
Section: 7A
State trips: 1999 (as Silver Bay)
Home arena: Rukavina Arena, Lake County Arena
Head coach: Mike Guzzo
Career record (years): 307-295-24 (32)
Assistant coaches: Dan Thewis,Gary Gustafson
Letterwinners returning/lost: 11/9
Top returning forwards: Junior Cole Komarek (6-16--22), senior Mason Meyer (11-10--21), senior Ethan Sporn (8-10--18), senior Wyatt Haugan (4-12--16)
Top returning defensemen: Sophomore Nate Swanson (4-12--16), senior Connor Somnis (6-6--12)
Top returning goaltender: Senior Cameron Roy (8-13-3, .858, .871)
The coach says: “The North Shore Storm had its first losing season (10-14-3) in 2017-18 since it began as a cooperative program six years ago. This year the team hopes to get back to being a competitive team in Section 7A. Experienced goaltending (Cameron Roy and Connor Sullivan) is the strength of the team this year. Balanced scoring will come from Mason Meyer, Cole Komarek, Ethan Sporn, Nate Swanson and Wyatt Haugan. Defense will need to improve as the season goes on for the team to have a successful season. ”

Northfield Raiders
Last year: 19-6-2
Conference (record): Big 9 (14-3-1)
Section: 1A
State trips: 2017
Home arena: Northfield Ice Arena
Head coach: Mike Luckraft
Career record (years): 77-28-7 (4)
Assistant coaches: Charlie Cloud, Mick Scofield, Scott Cloud
Letterwinners returning/lost: 13/7
Top returning forwards: Sophomore Carson Van Zulien (24-28--52), senior Devon Jirik (23-23--46), senior Garrett Sawyer (8-6--14)
Top returning defensemen: Sophomore Josh Kruger (3-6--9), senior Zachary Anderson (0-5--5), senior Cole Dack (0-4--4)
Top returning goaltenders: Senior Wesley Lideen (12-3-0, 1.91, .920), Cal Frank
The coach says: “The Raiders should be solid in 2018-19. On the blueline four of the six D men return along with the top goaltender. Up front, we return two of the three top line forwards who accounted for over 50 points each (Jirik & VanZuilen), along with five other returning varsity forwards. The key will be playing solid D, blending the new players into the lineup, getting scoring from all three lines and our D core. We hope to continue a good trend of special teams’ play. Goaltending should be a strong point with Wes and Cal.”

Orono Spartans
Last year: 23-7-1
Conference (record): Wright County (11-2-1)
Section: 2A
State trips: 1992, 93, 2002, 03, 04, 06, 07, 14, 18 Champs
Home arena: Orono Ice Arena
Head coach: Will Scholz
Career record (years): 23-7-1 (1)
Assistant coaches: Justin Pagel, Richie Anderson, Zach Nelson
Letterwinners returning/lost: 10/10
Top returning forwards: Junior Zack Simon (14-15--29), senior Landon Wittenberg (11-8--19)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Daniel Eckerline (5-15--20), senior Jack Kubitz (3-12--15), senior Zach Adams (3-7--10)
Top returning goaltenders: Senior Charlie Carlsen (0-1-0, 1.99, .895), junior Finn Grandy
The coach says: “After last year’s state championship, the goal is to get back to The Xcel Energy Center. This year the D core will be the leaders and have a large amount of pressure on their shoulders. Daniel Eckerline, Jack Kubitz, and Zach Adams all played big minutes in Orono’s state tournament run. Goaltending will also be key as coach Scholz looks for either senior Charlie Carlsen or junior Finn Grandy to step up and try and fill the shoes of Evan Babekuhl who graduated. Up front, the Spartans graduated a lot, but junior Zack Simon will be expected to drive the bus along with Junior Nick Messerli and a large group of seniors with not a lot of varsity experience, but they are a physical and gritty group that will make it difficult for other teams.”

Princeton Tigers
Last year: 10-15-1
Conference (record): Mississippi 8 (3-8-0)
Section: 5A
State trips: 2002, 03, 16
Home arena: Princeton Ice Arena
Head coach: Todd Frederick
Career record (years): 166-158-15 (12)
Assistant coaches: Nathan Cairns, Travis Leonard, Scott Fritz, Ken Hembre
Letterwinners returning/lost: 12/7
Top returning forwards: Senior Matthew Swanson (17-17--34), junior Jack Southard (15-13--28), junior Tyler Danielson (8-7--15), senior Carter Flor (6-7--13)
Top returning goaltender: Junior Hunter Burian (4-2-0, 2.95, .890)
The coach says: “Having 12 letterwinners returning to the team will give us depth and the ability to compete with the other top teams in the section and conference. We return two of the top three scorers from last year’s team and five forwards from the top two lines. Defense will be key for this year’s team as we return three letterwinners to provide depth on the blue line. We lose our starting goaltender to graduation but return two with varsity playing time. Mathew Swanson will return as a three-year letterwinner and staff will look to him to provide leadership as the team’s captain. If we can stay healthy and develop the youth coming into our program, we feel that we can compete with the top teams in our section and conference.”

Red Lake Falls Eagles
Last year: 3-21-1
Conference (record): Northwest (2-4-0)
Section: 8A
State trips: None
Home arena: Cardin-Hunt Arena
Head coach: Trevor Page
Career record (years): 58-128-12 (7)
Assistant coaches: Eric Biermaier, Wyatt Casavan
Letterwinners returning/lost: 10/2
Top returning forwards: Junior Fred Landman (16-6--22), senior Hunter Schmitz (9-3--12), senior John LaCoursiere (3-5--8)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Hunter Pahlen (1-3--4), junior Logan Klipping (3-1--4), Kaydon Kenfield (1-1--2)
Top returning goaltender: Junior Brenden Larson
The coach says: “We were an extremely young team last year with over half of our guys being sophomores. With the experience that they got last year, they should be able to take a big step for us this year. This group is one of the hardest working teams that I have coached and they will need to continue to work hard for us to be successful.”

Red Wing Wingers
Last year: 5-19-2
Conference: Big 9 (5-8-2)
Section: 4A
State trips: 1995, 96, 97 Champs, 98, 99, 2002
Home arena: Prairie Island Arena
Head coach: Tony Casci
Career record (years): First season
Letterwinners returning/lost: 9/8
Top returning forwards: Senior Cam Blue (21-10--31), senior Michael Stoffel (6-8--14), junior Gavin Lampe
Top returning defenseman: Senior Derek Gielau (5-4--9)
Top returning goaltender: Junior Aidan Coyle
The coach says: “The Red Wing Wingers have a new coaching staff that has the expectations of hard work and doing the little things right. We have goals of improving our conference and section records from last year. We will have strong veteran leadership that is passionate about helping new role players learn how they can help the team succeed.”

Southwest Christian/Richfield Stars
Last year: 5-6-0
Conference (record): Two Rivers (1-2-0)
Section: 2A
State trips: None
Home arena: Chaska Community Center/Richfield Ice Arena
Head coach: Erik Westrum
Career record (years): 5-6-0 (1)
Assistant coaches: Dave Schwartz, Sam Carlson, Greg Sayuk, J Lindsay, Joe Piche
Letterwinners returning/lost: 12/6
Top returning forwards: Junior Nic Gustafson (9-3--12), junior Jeremiah Konkel (4-6--10), junior Owen Sommerness (1-5--6)
Top returning defenseman: Sophomore Cullen O’Connell (1-4--5)
Top returning goaltender: Senior Lukas Haugen (5-6-0, 3.09, .897)
The coach says: “We are excited for the season. With 10 new players, we will be young but are excited to see how they will mature over the season. Senior goalie Lukas Haugen and senior defenseman Jake Holmstrom return to provide leadership and anchor a young defense. Offensively, we will lean on juniors Nic Gustafson and Jeremiah Konkel to put the puck in the net. With a young team we know there will be mistakes, especially early in the season. Our goal is to make sure the guys are having fun, learning the game, and working hard. If they do, we are confident by the end of the season we will be in good shape. As we enter the third year of our co-op, we couldn’t be more pleased with the growth of the program and the quality of the young men on our team.”

St. Cloud Cathedral senior goalie Noah Amundson recorded an 18-8-0 record last season. Photo: Christine Wisch

St. Cloud Cathedral Crusaders
Last year: 20-8-0
Conference: Independent
Section: 6A
State trips: 1993, 94, 2004, 08, 09, 14, 16, 17
Home arena: St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex
Head coach: Derrick Brown
Career record (years): 186-59-8 (10)
Assistant coaches: Tom Bruce, Ron Brown, Travis Schneider, David Spethmann, Jake Van Halbeck, Cal Herold
Letterwinners returning/lost: 17/3
Top returning forwards: Junior Nate Warner (23-34--57), junior Jack Smith (22-35--57), junior Blake Perbix (19-30--49), senior Jackson Savoie (16-18--34)
Top returning defensemen: Junior CJ Zins (9-15--24), junior Reid Bogenholm (9-12--21), senior Talon Lenzen (1-9--10)
Top returning goaltender: Senior Noah Amundson (18-8-0, 2.31, .894)
The coach says: “The expectation is for Cathedral to improve every day and hopefully contend in a very tough Section 6A by the end of the season. This season, we will have to replace production lost from last year’s team due to graduation and transfers. We will return nine forwards, four defenseman, and two goalies who saw time at the varsity level last year. We play a very tough Class A Schedule that will hopefully prepare us for the toughest section in Class A come playoff time.”

St. Paul Highland Park returns six players from last season’s team that posted a 17-9-0 overall record. Photo: Christine Wisch

St. Paul Highland Park/Central Scots
Last year: 17-9-0
Conference: Two Rivers (8-2-0)
Section: 4A
State trips: None
Head coach: Mark Prokop
Career record (years): 38-44-1 (3)
Assistant coaches: Chad Samuelson, Dan Herrick, Dave Johnston
Letterwinners returning/lost: 6/11
Top returning forwards: Senior Evan Lindstrom (16-26--42), senior Mac Staloch (8-5--13), junior Sam Bell (5-6--11)
Top returning defenseman: Senior Charlie Wengler (3-10--13)
Top returning goaltenders: Junior Mason Eischens, junior Jack Molter
The coach says: “This year is definitely a rebuilding year. We graduated 11 seniors including our Two Rivers Conference player of the year goaltender Jack Branby. We have a very young group of players. We will be led by senior Captain Evan Lindstrom and senior winger Mac Staloch. Our success will depend on how quickly our young guys adapt to our systems and the fast physical pace. We also will need to decrease the number of shots we give up with our young goaltending with little varsity experience.”

Waconia Wildcats
Last year: 3-23-0
Conference (record): Wright County (0-13-0)
Section: 2A
State trips: None
Home arena: Waconia City Ice Arena
Head coach: Andy Mair
Career record (years): First season
Letterwinners returning/lost: 17/3
Top returning forwards: Senior Eli Bruellman (10-7--17), senior Tommy Lindstrom (9-3--12), senior Jacob Gregor (3-5--8), senior Zac Holm (3-4--7)
Top returning defensemen: Senior Jack Jones (2-6--8), senior Reece Young (2-5--7), senior Nick Norling (3-3--6), senior Tyler Holmen (1-4--5)
Top returning goaltenders: Junior Mikey Behring, senior Joe Huskey
The coach says: “We will be a very experienced team this year. I expect us to be much stronger in our defensive zone and control the puck more than we have in the past. We have several very experienced varsity defensemen who handle and move the puck well. We will also be returning two varsity goaltenders who will be much more prepared to shoulder the load and be a leader for us in our defensive zone. The main key to our team this year is finishing at the net. We will control the puck more this year and apply more pressure in the offensive zone, but we have to be able to translate that into more goals. Getting our D involved and generating offense down low is a main focus.”

Winona/Cotter Winhawks
Last year: 2-23-0
Conference (record): Big 9 (0-15-0)
Section: 1A
State trips: 1952
Head coach: Fran McDevitt
Assistant coaches: Cody Rondeau, Jim Martin
Letterwinners returning/lost: 25/1
Top returning forwards: Junior Roman Grulkowski (17-2--19), senior Evan Carney (6-8--14), sophomore Matt Thesing (7-3--10), senior Alex Buerck (0-7--7)
Top returning defensemen: Sophomore Jack Thompson (0-3--3), junior Eric Paulson (0-2--2), sophomore Haidon Neumann (1-1--2)
Top returning goaltenders: Sophomore Alex Benson, junior Campbell Watkins, sophomore Payton Mancuso
The coach says: “This year’s team will definitely be more competitive than we have been the past few years, simply because of our age. Last year, we played one senior night in and out. This year’s lineup, for the first time in two years will be made primarily of upper classmen. Our experience that has been gained over the last two seasons will be one of our main strengths. We have the opportunity to put 15+ players on the ice each night with more than 40 games of high school hockey experience. Our key will be to continue to play the game with the puck. We stress puck possession and want to have control as much as possible. ”